Retainer for plug valve barrels



Dec. 16, 1952 F. TODD 2,621,887

RETAINER FOR PLUG VALVE BARRELS Filed May 19, 1949 Patented Dec. 16, 1952 UNITED STATESQPATENT OFFICE V RETAINER FOR PLUG VALVE BARRELS Floyd Todd, Springfield, Pa.

Application May 19, 1949, Serial No. 94,200

1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to plug valves and more particularly to an improved retainer especially adapted for use on glass stopcocks.

The conventional plug retainer for glass stopcocks comprises a rubber ring or Washer adapted to fit in an annular groove in the plug or barrel of the stopcock after insertion. This retainer has been notoriously unsatisfactory for several reasons. In the first place, the rubber washers deteriorate after they are in service for relatively short periods of time. Naturally, the rate of deterioration is dependent somewhat upon the chemicals or liquids flowing in the line in which the stopcock is installed. An additional disadvantage resides in the fact that the rubber ring does not exert any axial tension on the barrel so that the stopcock soon leaks and cannot be made to have an efiective air or liquid-tight seal.

Various other expedients have been tried to eliminate the disadvantages of the rubber ring noted above. One form of such a retainer employs a split screw which is adapted to fit over the end of the barrel. A sleeve is then applied over the split screw and a spring operates between the end of the sleeve and a pair of nuts that are threaded on the screw to provide the desired tension in the barrel. This assembly has six parts, four of which are threaded, and is not only expensive but' difficult to install and to remove. Such devices require machine operations in their manufacture and the small parts comprising the retainer assembly are likely to be lost or dropped when the stopcock is disassembled for lubrication or cleaning.

A primary object of the invention therefore, is to provide a simple barrel retainer for a plug valve that is inexpensive to manufacture and that may be readily installed and removed from the valve barrel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a threadless plug valve barrel retainer which may be used on glass stopcocks.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a plug valve barrel retainer having a minimum number of parts, and which when removed from the barrel comprises a unitary assembly.

A further object of the invention is to provide an adjustable tension retainer for plug valve barrels which eliminates the necessity for threads.

Further objects will be apparent from the specification and drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stopcock with my retainer assembled thereon;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the structure of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view showing the retainer spring compressed to illustrate the manner in which the retainer is removed from the valve barrel;

Fig. 4 is a perspective on an enlarged scale, showing the retainer assembly; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse section as seen at 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the preferred form of my plug valve retainer assembly comprises a helical spring it! having a diameter somewhat larger than the outside diameter of the protruding end ii of plug valve barrel i2. Spring ID at its opposite end is fastened to turned ears i3, it which form the termini of cross member it of the retaining clip [6. Arms 16, i6 extend at right angles to the cross member l4 and in the assembled positions of Figs. 1 and 2, are generally parallel to the axis of spring iii and are enclosed within the helixes of the spring. The ends of arms i 6, i6 are turned inwardly to provide teeth lta, lfia having arcuate edges ifib, 1621 that engage an annular groove I! on barrel end ll. Clip i5 may, if desired, be of mildly resilient metallic construction so that the arms IE, it when disconnected from the barrel, bend inwardly toward each other (as shown in Fig. 4).

To install my retainer, it is only necessary to compress spring l0 downwardly against the ears i3, I3 as shown in Fig. 3, whereupon arms l6, l6 and teeth i6a, lfia can be inserted transversely over barrel end I I and into groove i1 respectively. Spring I0 is then released and provides whatever tension may be required to insure a tight seal between the tapered barrel l2 and the valve body i8. Adjustment of the sealing tension is readily achieved by varying the pressure with which spring It bears against the annular edge IQ of valve body 18. Manual extension of the spring when disassembled, or the provision of a heavier or lighter spring, readily effects this object.

It will thus be understood that I have provided an extremely inexpensive, simple and efiicient barrel retainer which requires no threaded connection with the valve body or barrel and is therefore particularly suitable on glass stopcocks. When installed, the coils of spring I0 positively prevent accidental removal of the retainer since clips IS, IS cannot be disengaged from groove l1 unless the spring is compressed.

While I have illustrated my improved retainer in conjunction with a glass stopcock, it will be understood. that such a retainer can be employed on metallic valves as well.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: REFERENCES CITED A barrel retainer for plug valves comprising The following references are of record in the a helical compression spring, a pair of arms axialfile of this patent: 1y disposed within said spring, a plurality of teeth on one end of each of said arms, a cross member 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS formed integrally with the other ends of said Number Name Date arms, and a pair of abutments on said cross mem- 73 609 Jones Jan 21 1868 her adapted to engage one end of said spring, the 1 298061 Kr Se 1919 diameter of the spring and the resiliency of the l3576o8 g g 1920 arms with respect to each other being such that 10 2 6 Johngon Mar 1923 the arms in a parallel position are closely con- 471 igi June 1926 fined within the bore of said spring. 2'162045 Winkler J m 1939 FLOYD TODD. 

